Steven Greydanus

A collection of 45 posts

On Movies & Media

Decent Films on "New Moon"

I don't plan to spend any pennies on The Twilight Saga: New Moon after the living nightmare that was the sneak-preview screening of Twilight. So I refer you to the critic I trust most... Steven Greydanus - Decent Films: Twilight and New Moon are essentially uncritical celebrations of

On Movies & Media

On "Twilight," "New Moon," and "the Hallmark of Immaturity"

"I think the ears are tastiest." "Me, I prefer the chin." "I'm a forearm man, myself. And things just taste better when the girl's has helpless as this one." Yes, like it or not, New Moon is here. And last

On Movies & Media

"Watchmen": Five Reviews from Critics that Matter to Me (They Disagree)

Post your review, or a link to your favorite, below. Here are five from voices that matter to me: * Robert Davis * Steven D. Greydanus * Russ Breimeier * Andrew O'Hehir * Roger Ebert

On Movies & Media

The Reviews of Steven D. Greydanus

Movie critics (and this includes me) are too easily tempted into being snarky, sarcastic, and arrogant. We rush to be the first to call things "the best" this, and "the most" that, and the ___________ of the year, and the __________ to beat in 2009, and a _____________ like

Roger Ebert

Greydanus on Twilight-mania; Ebert on the CelebCult

Steven Greydanus offers an insightful interpretation of the Twilight phenomenon. Now that's what I'm talking about! * Roger Ebert: Death to Film Critics! Hail to the CelebCult!

On Movies & Media

Steven Greydanus is Dismantling "Religulous"

Hey, stop by ArtsandFaith.com and check it out: Steven Greydanus is dismantling Religulous, exposing the falsity of some of Bill Maher's claims in the film. I'd recommend starting with this post, in which Greydanus begins with a question from Peter Chattaway: Chattaway: ... I do have

On Movies & Media

Greydanus on "Brideshead Revisited"

I just realized that Steven Greydanus reviewed Brideshead Revisited, and somehow I missed it. He knows the book, and he gives the movie a lashing. Even the portrayal of the Flytes’ dysfunctional Catholicism isn’t without merit. Sebastian’s line “I’m not a heathen, I’m a sinner,

On Movies & Media

How "Prince Caspian" Botches the Meaning of the Book

Want to know if Andrew Adamson's Prince Caspian is fun and entertaining? Check out the reviews archived at Rotten Tomatoes. But if you're a fan of C.S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, which is something quite different, and if you hope to see Lewis'

On Movies & Media

DecentFilms on Prince Caspian: Lewis's Themes and Ideas are "Largely Lost."

When it comes to The Chronicles of Narnia films, well... I want them to be great. I want them to be entertaining, yes. But more than anything, I hope that the filmmakers finds ways to preserve the ideas at the core of the story. In The Lion, the Witch and

On Movies & Media

"The Defanging of Aslan"

Steven D. Greydanus interviews the men behind Prince Caspian. And he finds them making some rather dubious claims. "I've produced a lot of movies based on books," he said, speaking at a New York press event with other Narnia filmmakers. Citing titles from The Natural to

On Books & Writing

Mick Silva's Advice for Writers; Narnia's Makeover for High King Peter

Silva ponders Mick Silva on the voice of the Christian writer. * High King Peter of Narnia's "small mind" In C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, High King Peter did not have a "small mind." But it seems that American filmmakers are

On Movies & Media

The End is (in a Theater) Near (You)

Steven D. Greydanus is quoted in a new Wall Street Journal article on the current surge of apocalyptic movies. The article begins like this: On a recent Saturday night, I went to the movies. Walking past the theater showing "I Am Legend" (plague kills most of humanity), I

On Movies & Media

Best Movie Review of 2008? Most Likely!

  You're not likely to read a more enjoyable and hilarious movie review all year than this one... Steven Greydanus serves up a rhyming extravaganza in praise of Horton Hears a Who.

On Movies & Media

Steven D. Greydanus's Favorites of 2007

There is no film critic whose writing I enjoy more than Steven D. Greydanus, even though we sometimes have very different opinions of particular films. (There Will Be Blood, for instance, which didn't mean much to him, but my head is still spinning with all that I enjoyed

On Movies & Media

Name 20 recent films that portray Christianity in a positive light

I frequently receive mail from readers who argue that we should ignore "Hollywood's output" because of the ways in which Christians are negatively portrayed. If I dare answer by suggesting that some of these portrayals are actually fair -- even deserved -- I am quickly swamped

On Songs & Albums

Pavarotti's Return to Catholic Faith

At ArtsandFaith.com, Steven Greydanus has noted this detail about Luciano Pavarotti that was overlooked in most obituaries. Church leaders and pastors, including Pope Benedict XVI, sent messages conveying their condolences. The Pope's message expressed his sorrow at the loss of "a great artist who with his

On Movies & Media

Greydanus on "Bella"

I had a chance to see Bella at Biola (Wow, there's a sequel idea for you: Bella at Biola!) several months back, but found myself in a fascinating conversation with Amazing Grace producer Ken Wales, and by the time he'd finished regaling me with tales of

On Movies & Media

Greydanus and McCracken on "3:10 to Yuma"

Steven D. Greydanus guns down James Mangold's 3:10 to Yuma: The original believed that a man was a man whether he was an outlaw or a law-abiding citizen, and core human and social values applied to all. The remake sees men as either wolves or sheep — those

Through a Screen Darkly

Steven D. Greydanus at Decent Films Notes "Through a Screen Darkly"

A big "Thank you!" to Steven Greydanus, one of my favorite film critics, for being so kind as to highlight Through a Screen Darkly in his latest batch of answers to inquiries at his Decent Films website. When someone asked for a recommendation of a book about Christian

On Movies & Media

Steven Greydanus on the First Must-See Movie of 2007

Steven D. Greydanus at Decent Films, one of my favorite film critics, has me scrambling to make plans to see a quiet movie that just might creep past moviegoers unnoticed. His review of Into Great Silence sets it apart for me as the first must-see of 2007. Its achievement virtually

On Movies & Media

Conversations with Critics About Favorite Films of 2006

It was the year of the endangered baby. Tsotsi, L'Enfant, The Nativity Story, Pan's Labyrinth,Children of Men... all of these films were focused on either infants or unborn children who are carried through terrible danger. But that was a subset of films characterized by a

On Movies & Media

"The Nativity Story": Your Reviews

Since snow and ice have kept me from the Seattle press screenings of The Nativity Story, chances are you will see the movie before I do. (I'm going to try to catch a Saturday or Sunday matinee.) If you see it, tell us what you think of it.

On Movies & Media

Steven Greydanus joins CT Movies!

CT Movies is... Captain Mark Moring Peter T. Chattaway Carolyn Arends Lisa Ann Cockrel Camerin Courtney Todd Hertz Josh Hurst Ron Reed and now... Steven Greydanus!! What a team! I think I'm going to quit CT Movies just so I can focus my efforts on establishing a fan

On Movies & Media

Steven Greydanus agrees! Pirates rocks!

Here's Steven Greydanus's review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which understands all of the things that Entertainment Weekly's reviewer does not! And Russ Breimeier at Christianity Today Movies gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars! I am

On Movies & Media

Stock (Plot) Car Racing?

Does "Cars" maintain Pixar's string of smashingly great films? Personally, I don't subscribe to the popular opinion that all of Pixar's films have been four-star classics. A Bug's Life, as colorful as it was, never did much for me, and